Monetizing Your Blog With Affiliate Marketing

DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links. I will receive a small commission on purchases made, using my link. Thank you for your continued support!

  Since I started my blog, almost two years ago, I have been asked a million times... "Do you really make money just for writing stuff and putting it on your blog?!". The short answer is, "Yes", I do make money from my blog, but it's not just as easy as writing a cool post and getting paid for it. It takes a lot of work and requires a lot of effort from the blogger. I am definitely not a marketing genius, but I have picked up a few pointers along the way that will help you, if you are looking for ways to monetize your blog.

What is Affiliate Marketing?!

  Affiliate marketing is simply when a company pays you to bring them paying/clicking customers. We all know that companies need new customers to make sales and stay in business and they are willing to pay you for it. Whether it be selling an actual product or even just a click through to their site the company is looking for, it is your job to make it happen.

Affiliate Marketing Tips:

  In order to monetize your blog by utilizing affiliate marketing, you really need to make sure you grow your social media numbers. The more fans/followers you have, the larger your reach, which is very important, because the main goal of affiliate marketing is to get information about the product/service in front of as many potential customers as possible, in the hopes they purchase, using your link.

  Another key to affiliate marketing is to know your readership, so you can put the right product in front of them. If you write a blog about food, you will want to sign up with food related affiliate programs, not a clothing program and vice versa.

  Promotion is key when trying to reach a large amount of people with affiliate posts. Use every relevant form of social media you belong to. Share often, but don't be spammy. You can even utilize programs like Hootsuite to schedule your posts, in the event that life gets in the way and you forget to share.

  Use links to relevant products in your blog posts. For example, if you are sharing a recipe for pizza and you are an Amazon affiliate, link to a pizza stone in your post, you never know when someone just might happen to be looking for a pizza stone and purchase, using your link.

  Always disclose! Always! When using affiliate links, you must disclose that you are doing so. Not only is it required by the FTC, but it also looks shady, if you don't disclose. It appears as if you are trying to trick your readers, which is a great way to ruin your entire blog and everything you have worked for.

Where to Find Affiliate Marketing Programs:

    There are tons of marketing networks out there, but my favorite is Share a Sale. Share a Sale is your one stop shop for all the best affiliate programs out there, they offer some of the best payouts around and they have been around for almost 14 years, so you know they must be doing something right.

  My favorite thing about the Share a Sale affiliates is the bonus blog posts they offer from time to time, which basically means FREE MONEY, whether you make a sale or not. Granted the bonus posts often only pay $5 or $10, it still adds up at the end of the month. You can also make money by referring other bloggers to the programs, as well.

  I have compiled a list of a few of my best paying affiliate programs and the ones that pay a referral fee, feel free to sign up under me and then sign up your blogging buddies too. 

• Tiny Prints
• Tea Collection (Children's Clothing)
• Reebok
• Blurb (Custom Photo Books)
• Craftsy
• Gazelle 
• Rhapsody
  
• Mineral Hygenics
• Little Passports (Kid's Subscription Box)
• Stella & Dot (Kid's Clothing)
• Eden Fantasys (Adult Toys)